Frankfurt, Oh Frankfurt...

With only 6 days remaining till I board flight TG920 to Frankfurt, I am antsy as hell... My tickets are tucked away safely in my desk drawer, together with my passport and my to do/buy list, and not to mention, my German phrase book (seeing that I'll be moving around on my own, I might as well equip myself with some basic German). All my earlier plans have gone down the drain 'coz Jochen will be working while I'm there, and can't get any days off. So I'll have to be content with discovering Frankfurt am Main and its neighbourhoods instead of canoeing and swimming in Lake Constance. :(

So I did a little research to see what the financial metropolis has to offer (besides the 400 banking institutions scattered around the city) and found a wealth of museums (with a significant number lining the River Main), palaces, churches and gallaries to wander through, a flea market that opens every Saturday (Oh help!!!), the zoo and a 20 acre Botanical garden. The nightlife and shopping are supposed to be one of the highlights of the city, with the Zeil being hailed as Germany’s equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue. Unfortunately from what I hear, Frankfurt is frightfully expensive and shopping really isn't my thing... except maybe picking up stuff from the flea market... :) The city's also known for its numerous festivals and open-air events that it hosts regularly. Looking forward to catching the Wilhelmstrassenfest Theatrium, one of the country's most exclusive street festivals, and the Sommerfest, which features on a week-long feast for gourmands.

Altstadt (Old Town) is said to be the 'hauntingly beautiful medieval quarter' of Frankfurt, with Gothic buildings that include historic landmarks such as the Imperial Hall, Romerberg Square and the old Jewish Quarter.

A little away from the hustle and bustle is the Frankfurter Stadtwald where one can enjoy a little bit of Mother Nature with a stroll through the forest and then end it off with a beer at the huge beer garden; and the Lohrberg, a 1935ft high hill that provides a great opportunity for a breathtaking panoramic view of the Frankfurt skyline and the entire Rhine-Main region.

Well, I suppose I have enough to keep me occupied. And if I don't I still have Heidelberg and Hanau, which are less than an hour away.